Union Legislature House
The''' Union Legislature House''' or commonly known as the''' House''' is the national legislature of the Union of Arendale. It is a bicameral body consisting of the Union Senate(upper chamber), and the Union Congress (lower chamber) although commonly in Arendale the term congress refers to the latter. The Senate is composed of 24 senators half of which are elected every three years. Each senator, therefore, serves a total of six years. The senators are elected by the whole electorate and do not represent any geographical district. The House of Representatives is composed of a maximum of 450 congressmen. There are two types of congressmen: the district and the sectoral representatives. The district congressmen represent a particular geographical district of the country. All provinces in the country are composed of at least one congressional district. Several cities also have their own congressional districts, with some composed of two or more representatives. The sectoral congressmen represent the minority sectors of the population. This enables these minority groups to be represented in the Legislature House, when they would otherwise not be represented properly through district representation. Also known as party-list representatives, sectoral congressmen represent labor unions, rights groups, and other organizations. The Constitution provides that the House shall convene for its regular session every year beginning on the 4th Monday of July. A regular session can last until thirty days before the opening of its next regular session in the succeeding year. The Pime Minister may, however, call special sessions which are usually held between regular legislative sessions to handle emergencies or urgent matters. 'Powers' The powers of the Union Legislature House may be classified as: 'General legislative power' It consists of the enactment of laws intended as a rule of conduct to govern the relation between individuals (i.e., civil laws, commercial laws, etc.) or between individuals and the state (i.e., criminal law, political law, etc.) 'Implied powers' It is essential to the effective exercise of other powers expressly granted to the assembly. 'Inherent powers' These are the powers which though not expressly given are nevertheless exercised by the House as they are necessary for its existence such as: *to determine the rules of proceedings; *to compel attendance of absent members to obtain quorum to do business; *to keep journal of its proceedings; etc. 'Specific legislative powers' It has reference to powers which the Constitution expressly and specifically directs to perform or execute.Powers enjoyed by the Legislature House are classifiable under this category are: *Power to appropriate; *Power to act as constituent assembly; (The Union Senate and the Union Congress must convene and vote on joint or separate session to do this. *Power to impeach; (to initiate all cases of impeachment is the power of the Union Congress; To try all cases of impeachment is the power of the Senate.) *Power to confirm treaties;(Only the Senate is authorized to use this power.) *Power to declare the existence of war; (The Union Senate and the Union Congress must convene in joint session to do this.) *Power to concur amnesty; and *Power to act as board of canvasser for presidential/vice-presidential votes. (by creating a joint congressional committee to do the canvassing.) *Power to contempt *Blending of power *Delegation of power *Budgetary power *Power to taxation 'Lawmaking' 'Preparation of the bill' The Member or the Bill Drafting Division of the Reference and Research Bureau prepares and drafts the bill upon the Member's request. 'First reading' The bill is filed with the Bills and Index Service and the same is numbered and reproduced. Three days after its filing, the same is included in the Order of Business for First Reading. On First Reading, the Secretary General reads the title and number of the bill. The Speaker refers the bill to the appropriate Committee/s. 'Committee consideration / action' The Committee where the bill was referred to evaluates it to determine the necessity of conducting public hearings.If the Committee finds it necessary to conduct public hearings, it schedules the time thereof, issues public notices and invites resource persons from the public and private sectors, the academe, and experts on the proposed legislation.If the Committee determines that public hearing is not needed, it schedules the bill for Committee discussion/s.Based on the result of the public hearings or Committee discussions, the Committee may introduce amendments, consolidate bills on the same subject matter, or propose a substitute bill. It then prepares the corresponding committee report.The Committee approves the Committee Report and formally transmits the same to an Affairs Bureau. 'Second reading' The Committee Report is registered and numbered by the Bills and Index Service. It is included in the Order of Business and referred to the Committee on Rules.The Committee on Rules schedules the bill for consideration on Second Reading.On Second Reading, the Secretary General reads the number, title and text of the bill and the following takes place: *Period of Sponsorship and Debate *Period of Amendments *Voting, which may be by *nominal voting 'Third reading' The amendments, if any, are engrossed and printed copies of the bill are reproduced for Third Reading.The engrossed bill is included in the Calendar of Bills for Third Reading and copies of the same are distributed to all the Members three days before its Third Reading.On Third Reading, the Secretary General reads only the number and title of the bill.A roll call or nominal voting is called and a Member, if he desires, is given three minutes to explain his vote. No amendment on the bill is allowed at this stage.The bill is approved by an affirmative vote of a majority of the Members present.If the bill is disapproved, the same is transmitted to the Archives. 'Transmittal of the approved bill to the Union Senate' The approved bill is transmitted to the Senate for its concurrence.Senate action on approved bill of the HouseThe bill undergoes the same legislative process in the Senate. 'Conference committee' A Conference Committee is constituted and is composed of Members from the Union Congress to settle, reconcile or thresh out differences or disagreements on any provision of the bill.The conferees are not limited to reconciling the differences in the bill but may introduce new provisions germane to the subject matter or may report out an entirely new bill on the subject.The Conference Committee prepares a report to be signed by all the conferees and the Chairman.The Conference Committee Report is submitted for consideration/approval of both Houses. No amendment is allowed. 'Transmittal of the bill to the President' Copies of the bill, signed by the Union Senate President and the Speaker of theUnion Congress and certified by both the Secretary of the Senate and the Secretary General of the Legislature House, are transmitted to the Prime Minister. 'Presidential action on the bill' If the bill is approved by the Prime Minster, it is assigned an RA number and transmitted to the Union Congress where it originated. Category:Union of Arendale Category:Governments